The arrival of our gracious sovereign lady today will give a few moments of reflection for us all on the question of whether or not we should be a republic.
As a Head of State there is no doubt we should welcome her, as the Head of the Commonwealth even more so as these moderately exciting games begin. But I for one hope that this may be one of the last times that she arrives here as the Queen of Australia.
Although, by and large, the prevailing reason for Australians seeming to vote in favour of retaining a monarchy(is that what we did?...probably not, it was more likely we voted against a particular model of republicanism...another story...) any way our reasoning seems to have been along the lines of ...if it ain't broke don't fix it. I am not really happy with the idea that it "ain't broke"!
In the modern world surely the least we can expect is to officially live in a society that says that everyone is to be regarded as being on an equal footing. Our fundamental institutions should declare what we believe...and as the monarchists keep reminding us ...it is not about the persons but about the institution of the monarchy. Indeed there is not much that is more fundamental, and yet it is essentially flawed. That is it is broke.
If the current arrangement says nothing else it says that leadership is an inherited privilege, that being wealthy and historical are the key characteristics that we think are important.
And of course no one is suggesting for a moment thast we do actually believe this. The symbol, the powerful and dramatic symbol, is broke.
Much of the debate has centred around the singing of God save the Queen. In my opinion it has all sorts of contradictions for those of us who are not citizens of the UK (in fact the Scottish may well feel more aligned to us thant to England).
Send her victorious... there are many forums where the interests of the UK and other parts of the Commonwealth are conflicted. Which side do we we want top prevail?
Long to reign over us.... the truth is the language oif "reign" is not the language of democracy. Does it matter? Symbolically, certainly.
Given that the end is (hopefully) in sight...we hypocritically join the prayer for a long reign in Australia. I think we should sing
Not so 'victorious' ,be less notorious, and not reign over us God save the Queen.
Good luck to her!!
3 comments:
While it's hardly the last word on the subject, there is something to be said for the popular platitude "If it ain't broke, don't fix it." But on the other hand, one suspects the parochial wisdom of the day which says "We ain't actually broke; but if we are ever going to fix it, the only way forward is to break it." Time will tell.
I think my point is that the system of "monarchy" whether functional or not is not appropriate in the 21st century. In fact I suggest it is offensive to democracy.
So too hierarchy?
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